Escape
by swirliness
Summary: Marian and the gang help Robin out of a sticky situation... again! (Oops, updated now!)


"Need a hand?"

Robin's head shot up at the familiar voice.

"Marian?"

She smiled.

"Shouldn't this really be the other way round? The brave knight rescuing the fair maiden?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow as she stepped back to let Little John move next to the cell door.

Robin would have grinned, but the large bruise covering most of his right cheek made the expression extremely painful. He scrambled to his feet and retreated to the far corner of his cell as Little John threw his weight against the already brittle lock. After several attempts the rusty metal gave way and the door hit the stone floor of the castle dungeons with a loud clang.

"Well if we haven't already made enough noise to wake the whole castle, I think that might alert someone!" called Much from where he was positioned as lookout by the door.

"Come on, let's go!"

Robin stepped over the fallen door and caught his bow, which Marian threw to him, along with a wide grin. Her smile faltered slightly when he stepped into the light and Marian caught the full glory of his bruised face. She reached out to brush his cheek with her thumb, her face falling into a concerned frown when he flinched at the contact with the blotched skin.

Marian opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by an impatient cough from behind them.

"Shall we?"

The pair smiled ruefully at Little John and quickly made their way up the dungeon stairs and out into the deserted corridor, stepping over the unconscious forms of the jailer and a guard on the way.

After collecting Djaq and Will from their lookout points along the corridor, Robin and his gang crept their way along the gloomy corridors of the lower floors of the castle to the merchants entrance where they left their horses. Will and Djaq led the way, followed by John, Much and finally Robin and Marian.

"It is not safe for you to be here Marian" he told her quietly.

"It was not safe for you to storm off by yourself" she answered, referring to the carelessness that had got him locked up in the first place. Robin scowled slightly.

"The people were relying on those drop offs"

"Yes! And what would those people do if you were swinging by your neck on the Sheriff's gallows? Who would provide for them then? We are a team Robin, you told me that. We work together. It's not just about us. One disagreement between ourselves could cost people their lives. We cannot let that happen, so we cannot be driven apart by petty arguments."

That silenced him. And the rest of the gang, Marian noticed who had all stopped their whispered conversations. Or perhaps, she thought with slight embarrassment, it was that they couldn't hear each other over the top of another argument between her and Robin.

She was soon grateful for the uneasy silence however, when the sound of hurried footsteps rang out along the corridor.

There was a sudden rush of movement from the gang as they all threw themselves around the next corner into the shadows. To Marian's annoyance, she found herself pressed uncomfortably close to Robin, but was unable to move backwards without knocking over Much and so creating a domino effect and alerting the footsteps to their presence.

The gang collectively held their breath as the guard to which the footsteps belonged rounded the corner, but thankfully turned down the corridor they had just crept along. The one that led to the dungeons.

As soon as the guard and his footsteps were out of earshot Djaq sprang away from the wall and addressed the gang in a hurried whisper.

"That guard will be going to take over the shift from the one outside Robin's cell. We don't have much time. Hurry!"

The last word was thrown over her shoulder as she had already set of at quite a speed towards their escape route.

"Ah" said Much as they skidded to a halt at the merchant's entrance "It appears we have a problem"

"What?" asked Little John gruffly, casting a nervous glance over his shoulder expecting to see more guards.

Much pointed to the waiting horses in reply.

"Four horses" he explained "Six outlaws. Four of us will have to double up"

"I'll go with Djaq" Will said, a little too quickly.

"I…I mean…um," he began backtracking; "…because we're the smallest…makes most sense…horse won't struggle…" he trailed off, looking highly embarrassed.

Djaq smiled to herself, but swung into the saddle and held her hand down to Will who stopped stammering and settled himself behind her.

"Well that's alright then." John spoke up, "I'm sure you two lovebirds won't object to sharing a saddle"

Marian began to protest but saw her efforts were futile, as Much and John had already mounted their horses. She sighed a little in resignation but accepted Robin's hand as he swung her up behind him.

"Ready?" called Robin to his gang, kicking his mount into movement.

They reached the portcullis when the first angry shouts reached their ears. Robin urged his horse into a gallop, feeling Marian tighten her grip around his waist as he did so.

They had just thundered over the drawbridge when he felt her whisper into his ear:

"I'm sorry about earlier"

He squeezed her hands.

"And I'm sorry about running off and getting caught" he replied.

"I would say we're about even Locksley"

"Does that mean I'm forgiven?" he asked her, turning his head to see her smile coyly.

"For now."


End file.
